New Health Features Aren’t Exclusive to the New Apple Watch Models

The Apple Watch Series 11 not only uses the same S10 chip as the Series 10, but it also doesn’t appear to have any new sensors. This means that you don’t need to rush out and buy a Series 11 to access the new health features that Apple showcased yesterday.

While the new blood pressure hypertension monitoring would seem like it requires a new sensor, it’s capable of using the hardware in the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 and later models. As Apple describes it, “Hypertension notifications on Apple Watch use data from the optical heart sensor to analyze how a user’s blood vessels respond to the beats of the heart,” with an “algorithm [that] works passively in the background.”

In other words, this is likely more about the S9/S10 chips and their neural engines than sensors specifically designed to monitor blood pressure. The heart sensor is sufficient.

Hypertension notifications are still under review by the FDA and government health regulators in other countries, but once approved, Apple has confirmed they’ll be available on the Series 9 and Ultra 2 and later models in both families.

Clearance for hypertension notifications from the FDA and other regulators is expected soon, and the feature will be available in more than 150 countries and regions — including the U.S. and the EU — this month. Hypertension notifications will be available on Apple Watch Series 9 and later, and Apple Watch Ultra 2 and later, with watchOS 26.

The same goes for the new Sleep Score. Even though Apple showed this off as part of the Apple Watch Series 11 yesterday, it’s a watchOS 26 feature that will be available on all Apple Watches capable of running that version: the Apple Watch Series 6 and later models, plus the Apple Watch SE 2.

This should be less surprising, as it’s obviously nothing more than a calculation of the sleep tracking data that the Apple Watch has been able to record since watchOS 7, which was released alongside the Apple Watch Series 6 in 2020.

The only significant upgrades the Series 11 has over its predecessor are longer battery life and increased durability. This year’s models also support 5G, although this feature is currently limited to specific carriers and countries. For example, the Canadian model of Apple Watch Series 11 remains LTE only.